Maulupe paces Vista Murrieta to rout in playoff return

MURRIETA  The Vista Murrieta High girls basketball team marked its return to the postseason in emphatic fashion Saturday after a two-year drought.

Behind a tremendous defensive effort, Vista Murrieta advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs with a 58-10 win over Trabuco Hills.

Vista Murrieta plays in the second round Wednesday at La Quinta, which defeated Ontario Chaffey, 68-37, in the opening round.

“It was a good first game for us,” Vista Murrieta coach Chris Jones said. “We were able to get out there, get our feet wet, and kind of figure out the whole playoff experience.

“Now that we have the first game behind us, hopefully we can come out looking sharper Wednesday.”

Virgina Tech-bound

senior Serafina Maulupe led the Broncos with a 22-point effort that included five steals and a pair of 3-pointers.

Prior to Saturday, Maulupe was the only player on the Vista Murrieta side that had participated in a postseason game.

“We have a transition game, and we used it effectively tonight,” Maulupe said. “We got steals, looked up court for the fast break, and relied on our speed.”

Added Jones: “(Maulupe) has waited a while to get back into this playoff environment, and she played well. She was under control and composed, just like she has been all season.”

The Broncos collected 20 steals and allowed the Mustangs only two shots from the field.

“With our size, length, and speed we need convert on those defensive opportunities,” Jones said. “We did a good job on that tonight, but if we want to make a deep run we are going to have to be better.”

Perhaps the only blemish for Vista Murrieta (23-5) on Saturday was its start. The Broncos opened the game 0-for-5 from the field before finding its stride to score 17 points in the quarter.

“We started out looking a little jittery,” Jones said. “But we played through it and managed to play a pretty clean game.”

Jones credited the slow start in part to a 10-day layoff and the lack of squad’s post season experience.

A bright spot for Vista Murrieta in the game was the play of freshmen Brittney Reed and Jaelyn Brown. Reed dominated the boards and scored 14 points in the process, which included going 6-for-7 at the free throw line, while Brown made four steals and added four points.